Masquerade
by Pathless
Summary: It was a defense mechanism; protection. Because there was no way Kanda would suffer through that again. Hiding under his hood and acting as an average high school student was the least he could do...Then there was Allen, that seemingly brainless yet beautiful guy that everyone fawned over. But, was it possible that there was more to the notorious Walker than originally let on?


The halls were crowded and noisy much to his distain. Paper airplanes flew overhead, and students slammed against the lockers as they ran to exit the condemned school as quickly as possible. The day had finally come to an end - a feat he'd begun to think would never be accomplished. He couldn't wait to get away from all these idiots, these fucking stupid morons.

Hanging his head low, and avoiding eye contact, he navigated through the sweaty, crowded mess. He was wearing his usual school attire: old-worn jeans and a ragged t-shirt covered with an equally shabby hoodie. On his face, a pair of unnecessarily thick glasses sat, shielding him from the scrutinizing eyes of the world. His long, raven hair was tied up in a tight ponytail concealed by his hood. To say the least, he hated high school. He loathed the small, packed buildings, detested the idiotic teachers, and above all, he despised the students. Every one of them was caught up in the "glorious" idea of high school. What the fuck was the big deal? It was just another obstacle preventing him from gaining freedom.

He practically groaned as he heard a squeal behind him. Speaking of nuisances…the worst of all was upon him, wasn't he _lucky_?

"Are you _sure_ you don't wanna come t'night? It won't be the same without you!" Just by the tone of the voice he could envision this girl; annoying. End of story. "C'mon! We all want you to come!" The brat continued, a chorus of female voices affirming her statement.

He wanted to scream as the subject replied. Something about this despicable teen just ticked him off like no one he'd ever known before. He bowed his head even further, grimacing as he let his perfect posture fall. It would just attract unwanted attention.

"Well…" The subject started, chuckling slightly. "I can't really refuse now, can I?"

Popular, athletic, stupid as fuck, and annoying as hell. He hadn't even known it was possible, or legal for that matter, to be so incredibly dim-witted. One would think the line would be drawn before it became hazardous to the rest of the world, but obviously not as there stood living evidence right before his eyes. Clad in a slightly unbuttoned white shirt with a loose black tie, skin tight black jeans, and white hair gelled to perfection - who the fuck did this guy think he was?

"Yay! Allen, thank you, thank you, thank you!" The girl exclaimed, causing him to cringe at the sound.

"It is my pleasure." Allen paused. "Would you guys mind if I invited a few people to come along?" The girls immediately shook their heads vigorously claiming that his friends were their friends.

"Great! I'll see you guys tonight then!" He laughed, the sound of his feet indicating he'd run off.

With a relieved sigh, he straightened up. The danger was gone now, or so it seemed.

"YO! Wait up!" A very familiar voice rang out behind him. Cursing, he continued walking. There was no way it was him being called by the notorious Allen Walker. After all, he was pretty much dirt, the lowest of all. When a hand grabbed his shoulder he nearly screamed, preparing to flip this impudent person.

"Hey, Kanda, right? Kanda Yuu." He stared incredulously down at the boy debating whether or not he should respond.

"Yes, that's me." He scowled, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "May I _help_ you with something?"

"Actually, yes!" Allen replied cheerfully. "I was wondering if you would like to come to this big party tonight. It's supposed to be super awesome, and there'll be lots of food and hot chicks!" He added, winking.

Kanda gaped, lost for words. Was this a prank? "No."

"Aww, don't be like that! You're always alone; it wouldn't hurt to socialize _once _in a while."

"You don't know the half of it." Kanda growled under his breath.

"I know! How about you come over to my place? I'll help you get ready, or- better yet, we could go clothes shopping for you!" He offered, glancing at Kanda's grungy appearance.

"As tempting as that offer sounds," he responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I'll have to pass." Even going home to Tiedoll and his idiotic brothers was better than shopping with this guy. He sped up his pace once again, hoping to leave behind the pestering jock. Practically sprinting, he finally exited the wretched building.

Ignoring the fading voice behind him, Kanda continued until he reached the bus stop. He took a seat on the bench, lowering his head and bending over slightly. He felt uneasy somehow. Although he couldn't quite pin it, he could feel a lingering memory coming back to the surface; some memory long forgotten, some recollection pushed back into the very darkest corner of his mind, but it was growing. That much was certain.

The bus pulled up, and Kanda entered, slipping in his money and taking a seat near the back. Still, he was bothered by the…the...blank memory. His head sunk back into his hands as the drive wore on, and his eyebrows tightened. When his stop finally neared, he snatched up his backpack and walked to the front. He'd been so preoccupied he'd not even noticed that he was the last one on.

"The next stop yours, kid?" The bus driver asked, causing Kanda to snap out of his thoughts.

"Yes." He replied sharply as the bus came to a stop. He walked out without a word to the driver.

Kanda snuck around the back of his current residential estate (his home by absolutely no means), and agilely leapt over the fence. Then, he carefully removed the window to his current room of residence and jumped in, sweeping aside the dark curtains.

"Yo, Yuu! Welcome home!" Kanda nearly fell back in surprise.

"WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO ENTER, YOU GODDAMN USAGI?!" He burst out, menacingly approaching the intruder.

The Usagi simply waved it off, even snickering a bit. "Relax a bit, won't cha? I just came in to let you know that you need to get ready soon. We're leaving in a couple of hours and I _know _how long your beautification process takes."

His eyebrow twitched.

His adversary simply laughed however, obviously use to the temperamental teen. "Well then, I'll leave you to it! 6:30 sharp though, kay? You know how Tiedoll is…"

"What's occasion, bunny boy?" Kanda asked skeptically, quickly glancing at the clock that read 4:27.

Lavi waved away the question. "It's just another one of Tiedoll's work parties. We're going to meet him there. Make sure you look presentable!" He laughed and skipped out of the room, leaving the Japanese teen scowling in his room.

He sighed, glancing at his clock. He supposed skipping the party was _not _worth the wrath of his adopter. Although the man did not outwardly seem hostile in any way shape or form, he somehow always managed to punish his "sons" very…creatively, the man was an artist after all. So, with that in mind, Kanda grabbed his towel from off his bed and stepped into his bathroom to take a shower.

He pulled off his hoodie, discarding it on the floor, and placed his glasses on the counter. Then, opening one of the vanity drawers, he produced a package of make-up removing wipes. Looking into the mirror, he began to wipe off the layers of fake blemishes, wrinkles and imperfections sketched onto his face flawlessly by the owner the residence. Upon finishing, he stripped out the rest of his clothes and removed his hair tie, running his hand through his purposely greased hair. He sighed. This was going to take a while.

Thirty minutes later of obsessive shampooing and washing and conditioning of his hair, Kanda left the bathroom sparkling, a navy towel secured loosely around his waist. Any traces of the slouching, dirty high school student he had been half an hour ago had disappeared, leaving behind a flawless Japanese teen, with a perfect completion and sleek black hair.

He proceeded to his closet, glaring at the clothes inside. He really hated public gatherings. However, as it seemed inevitable, he grabbed a pair of light grey jeans and a midnight black shirt. Slipping them on, and tying his hair into a low ponytail over his right shoulder, he looked at the clock once more. The hands pointed to 5:34. Homework time he supposed..not that he needed to do it though. He practically had a guaranteed job at police station where Tiedoll worked. Plus, it would just draw attention to earn good grades. He needed to remain invisible at school. As he'd learned the hard way…being perfect had its disadvantages after all.

* * *

**Sooo…hello everyone..this is the first chapter to my new story, Masquerade (believe it or not haha). As you may have noticed, I put my other two stories on temporary hiatus, and will be devoting my time to this for the time being. I'm super excited though, so I hope you enjoy!**

**-pathless**

**P.S. I'm sorry if the chapters are on the short side, but I find that I update a lot quicker this way.**


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